Dragon
Dragons are highly intelligent reptile-like beings who evolved from Proto-Dragons. The greatest of these dragons were known as the Dragon Aspects, which were created by the Titan Keepers after the defeat of Galakrond over 25,000 years ago. Charged with maintaining the safety of the world of Azeroth, most of the aspects and their flights upheld their charge until the great Cataclysm, in which the corrupted aspect Deathwing was slain by a group of heroes with the assistance of the remaining Aspects. After Deathwing had been slain, the remaining aspects revealed that they had given all their strength to defeat their corrupted brother, which effectively ended their stewardship of Azeroth. Thus began the Age of Mortals. Most Dragons are divided into groups known as 'dragonflights' which are easily distinguished by the color of their scales. Originally it was thought that there were only five major dragonflights, however throughout the years of mortal expansion it has been revealed that there are more than just those five, most of whom naturally evolved without intervention from the Keepers. The original five flights, which were charged with the defense of Azeroth were the Red, Blue, Green, Black and Bronze dragonflights. These dragonflights are each led by a leader known as an 'Aspect', and with few exceptions, it was these Aspects which were the original proto-dragons which helped defeat Galakrond all those centuries ago. Dragons are fearsome creatures who are known for their extraordinary ability in the arcane and particular field of magics as well as their tough, almost impenetrable scales which act as their natural defenses. Following the defeat of Deathwing and the beginning of the Age of Mortals, it has become known that the original Dragonflights have lost most of their keeper-imbued abilities along with their ability to reproduce. While this ultimately means that the original five dragonflights will die out over time, there are other dragonflights which were not affected by the defeat of Deathwing, thus ensuring that dragons always remain on Azeroth. =Major Dragonflights= ---- Red Dragonflight :Led by: Alexstraza the Life-Binder. :Aspect: Life :Titan Blessed by: Eonar through the titan keeper Freya The Red Dragonflight is led by Alexstrasza the Life-Binder. Blessed by Eonar through the Keeper Freya, Alexstrasza and her flight are charged with protecting life on Azeroth. Often seen covered in red scales with beige/yellow bellies and wing webbing. They may even have beige or black horns. These dragons are blessed with a breath weapon of fire. This fire can create or destroy life depending on how it is used. Red Dragons are fierce protectors of Life and are often opponents against the remaining rebellious Black Dragonflight and Dwindling few of the Twilight Dragonflight, as well as the Undead Scourge. Despite being charged with the defense of all life, the Red Dragonflight remains particularly wary of mortal races, specifically the Orcs, who with the aid of an artifact known as the Dragon Soul, managed to enslave Alexstrasza and force her and her flight to fight against the Alliance during the Second War. While some of that trust has been restored with the aid of mortals during the Nexus War years later, there is still tension between the Red Dragonflight and the mortal races of Azeroth. Blue Dragonflight :Led by: Kalecgos The Spell Weaver, Formerly Malygos :Aspect: Magic :Titan Blessed by: Norgannon through the titan keeper Loken The Blue Dragonflight is led by Kalecgos, formerly Malygos. Blessed by the Titan Norgannon through the Titan Keeper Loken, the Blue Dragonflight is charged with the protection and knowledge of Magic. Often seen covered in various shades of blue scales followed by various ivory bellies and wing webbing. Horns very from Ivory to a pure arcane crystal. These dragons are blessed with a breath weapon of Frost and raw Arcane magic. When the Leadership of the flight was under the original Aspect of Magic, Malygos, the flight suffered an immensely during the War of the Ancients when Deathwing unleashed the power of the Dragon Soul against Malygos and the bulk of his flight. Even with the flight eventually recovering from the loss, Malygos was left unstable from the events. Many years passed and his instability resulted in the Nexus War. Declaring war on all the magic users of the world and the Red Dragonflight that protected them. Malygos and the Blue Dragonflight fought a terrible battle which saw many dragons, both young and old, slain before the Aspect himself was cut down by heroes aided by the Red Dragonflight. After the end of the Nexus War the remaining Blue Dragons stepped down from the conflict and after a time selected Kalecgos to serve as the Aspect of the Blue Dragonflight. Green Dragonflight :Led by: Currently Unknown, Formerly Ysera The Awakened (The Dreamer) :Aspect: Nature :Titan Blessed by: Eonar through the titan keeper Freya The Green Dragonflight was led by the Late Aspect, Ysera the Awakened (The Dreamer formerly). Blessed by Eonar through the Keeper Freya, Ysera and her flight are charged with protecting the Natural on Azeroth and the Emerald Dream, a realm of nature and magic. The Green Dragonflight is easily approachable and has an affinity with animals and nature. Often seen with various hues of green scales and pale yellow and green bellies and wing webbing. Their horns color varies between pale yellows, muted greens, darken browns, and even black with hints of red. They have a breath weapon of poisons and acids. Given stewardship over the plane of existence known as the Emerald Dream, Ysera and the green Dragonflight could often be found. They often aid Druids who enter the dream to seek wisdom and guidance. After the War of the Ancients had come to a close, a malevolent force began to twist and corrupt the Emerald Dream from the inside claiming the minds of many of the green dragonflight and turning them to madness. This corruption was revealed as the satyr Xavius, originally a great sorcerer who sided with the Burning Legion during the War of the Ancients and was thought to be slain by the Archdruid Malfurion Stormrage. Ultimately the corruption remained within the dream until after the Age of Mortals had begun, although attempts were made to excise it multiple times. During the Burning Legion invasion of Azeroth in the year 627 K.C, Xavius once again returned and created chaos within the region of Val'sharah, capturing Archdruid Stormrage and using a powerful titan artifact, known as the Tear of Elune, to turn Ysera into a powerful nightmare dragon. Unable to save her, Tyrande Whisperwind, along with several druids and heroes of Azeroth was forced to slay the dragon aspect, leaving a great void in the leadership of the flight which has yet to be filled. Black Dragonflight :Led by: Wrathion (Self-Proclaimed), Formerly Neltharion "Deathwing" the Earth-Warder (The Destroyer) :Aspect: Earth :Titan Blessed by: Khaz'goroth through the titan keeper Archaedas The Black Dragonflight is currently lead by Wrathion, who self-proclaimed himself as leader and is the Grandson of the former Aspect of Earth. Originally lead by Neltharion, he and his flight were blessed by the titan Khaz'goroth through the titan keeper Archaedas with the control over Earth and Protection. Often seen with various shades of black scales, some with red hues. Their bellies and wing webbing varies from shades of orange and red to purples and other brown earthy tones. Horns are often in shades of ivory, grey, black, or muted purples. The flight's breath weapon is that of Flames and Magma. He and his flight were the first dragonflight to turn on their sacred charge when Neltharion was corrupted by the Old Gods that were imprisoned beneath the earth. Playing a game of deception with the other dragonflights and their leaders, he created the Dragon Soul to use as a weapon against the Burning Legion during the War of the Ancients, only to turn it on the Kaldorei Resistance and the other dragonflights. The power unleashed killed thousands, including most of the Blue Dragonflight and forced the surviving dragons into full retreat. From that moment on, Neltharion was consumed and became known as Deathwing the Destroyer. In the thousands of years that followed, Deathwing would reappear and cause no end of chaos, only to be beaten back and forced to retreat by heroes, often aided by the other dragonflights. His corruption and interference came to a head when he started the Cataclysm, an event which caused chaos across the entirety of Azeroth. Intent to destroy the world completely, he would have succeeded if it were not for the heroes of Azeroth who defeated the corrupted aspect once and for all with the aid of the remaining aspects. Since the defeat of Deathwing, few Black Dragons are known to still be among the living on Azeroth. Wrathion, the grandson of Deathwing is one such dragon who, while uncorrupted, helped in the creation of the Iron Horde. Ebyssian is another, a direct descendent of Deathwing who was purified by Huln Highmountain and has served the Highmountain Tauren since that time under the guise of the Spiritwalker Ebonhorn. All other elder black dragons on Azeroth were eliminated by Wrathion during a purge of his kind, an effort made to eliminate the corruption of the Old Gods which had tainted his flight. The only other remaining group of Black Dragons is the brood led by Sabellian within the shattered remains of Outland. Also a son of Deathwing, he has resided in the Blades Edge Mountains of Outland and used adventuring heroes to sate his desire for revenge against Gruul the Dragonkiller and his sons, all-powerful Gronn who slaughtered many Black Dragons before the reopening of the Dark Portal years ago. Bronze Dragonflight :Led by: Nozdormu The Timeless One :Aspect: Time :Titan Blessed by: Aman'Thul through the titan keeper Ra The Bronze Dragonflight is currently led by Nozdormu the Timeless One. Blessed by Highfather Aman'Thul through Highkeeper Ra, he and the Bronze flight are the stewards of Time and masters of Temporal Magics. Often seen with hues of yellow-gold to yellow-bronze scales, they have various shades of tan belly and wing webbings. Their horns are often tan, brown, or black. They have a breath weapon of superheated sand and lightning. Able to navigate through time and see events before they happen, they are also charged with safeguarding such events to prevent interference from mortals who attempt to tinker with chronomancy. For thousands of years, the Bronze Dragonflight maintained their vigil over the timeways, preventing all interference except for a few key exceptions. This however changed with the creation of the Infinite Dragonflight, a group of dragons who were corrupted and sought to undo many of the events throughout time, likely as a means to preserve their own futures or prevent a far greater catastrophe. This dragonflight was led by none other than Murozond, a corrupted version of Nozdormu himself. Given aid by Nozdormu, heroes of Azeroth were able to slay Murozond, leaving the Infinite Dragonflight leaderless. Since the defeat of Deathwing, the Bronze Dragonflight, still led by Nozdormu, has lost much of its ability to command time. What this means for the future of the timeways remains unclear. =Minor Dragonflights= ---- Chromatic Dragonflight :Leadership: Deathwing :Status: Crippled / Destroyed Created by Nefarian's experiments with using the blood of other dragonflights in his lair in Blackrock Mountain. Experiments started prior to Nefarian's success but none had survived long enough. With kidnapping whelps of other flights, Nefarian successfully made living whelps. However, their lives were very short lived and would die days to weeks later. One viable experiment lived to adulthood, magically and forcefully aged till adventures of Azeroth came with the aid of a Red Dragon named Vaelastrasz. They killed Nefarian and most of the Chromatic Dragonflight. Cromatic whelps are often seen as magenta with various color bellies and wing webbing. Infinite Dragonflight :Leadership: Murozond :Status: Unknown Lead by the corrupted future version of Nozdormu, this flight is made up of various other corrupted versions of the Bronze Dragonflight. Their primary goal is to undo the time ways to benefit not only their selves but the Old Gods. One instance is trying to destroy the One True Time Way to bring about the Hour of Twilight. The status of the flight is Unknown. Often seen with deep navy blue and grey to black scales, their bellies and wing webbing. Their horns typically match their scale color. Netherwing Dragonflight :Leadership: Neltharaku :Status: Active The Netherwing Dragonflight is a flight whose bodies are composed of the etheral magics of the Twisting Nether. The origins of the flight can be taken back to the Black Dragonflight eggs that were taken through the Dark Portal. These eggs were accidentally exposed to a great deal of magic when Draenor was torn asunder. No longer bound to a parent flight, the Netherwing Dragonflight makes their home in the Outland. They are found in Blade's Edge Mountains, Shadowmoon Valley, and Netherstorm. Their etheral scales range from blues to purples and even greens, as well as their bellies, wing webbing, and crystallized horns (if any). Plagued Dragonflight :Leadership: Vectus, Lich King :Status: Defunct Created to spread plague, death, and undeath to the living. These dragons were originally created through Necromancy within Scholomance. Use of Black Dragon eggs from the Burning Steppes. The Argent Dawn caught wind of this plan and immediately stopped them before the dragons were deployed. Similar dragons were created in Northrend though with the use of Proto-Drakes. Storm Dragonflight :Leadership: Vethir :Stauts: Alive Found in Stormheim and Suramar, these are creatures of the Storm. They make their homes in the mountains and are often spoken to fly among the gods. Thorignir brood of storm dragons swore fealty to the titan keepers. Most are capable of speech and have control of thunder and lightning. Twilight Dragonflight :Leadership: Formerly Deathwing :Stauts: Recovering Sintharia created the Twilight Dragonflight using ancient dragon artifacts and the use of the power of the nether dragon. This new breed of dragons was created with dragon eggs and can feed on all forms of mystical energy. The eggs were stolen from many dragonflights - one such group came from the Red Dragonflight. At one point, Sintharia spoke that at her end so was the end of the Twilight Dragonflight. Making the flight nearly extinct. Scales are various dark purples and blues. As well as their bellies, wing webbing, and horns. Nightmare Dragonflight :Leadership:Ysera, Xavius :Stauts:'''Defunct Nightmare Dragons are Old God corrupted Green Dragons. Corrupted by Xavius. They are the force opposing and spreading the Corruption in the Emerald Dream. Often bringing the corruption from the Dream plane to the physical world. As of Legion: Scales are often a metallic ebony with red accents. Red wing webbing, bellies are metallic in color as well, their horns are red or black. =Life Cycle= ---- Dragons go through several stages of life. The exact stages' have indeterminate amounts of time, so the most accurate measurement of each stage and the corresponding age are as follows: Egg '''Indeterminate :This is the stage of life when a dragon is developing. They can stay in their egg nigh - indefinitely if needed, but they usually hatch within a few years of laying. The whelp in the egg learns while waiting to hatch. Whelps are conscious while in their eggs. Whelp - Hatching ~ 1 year :The smallest and often weakest period in a dragons lifetime, dragon whelps are rarely seen alone and are almost always guarded by their larger brethren. Despite their young state they still have teeth and claws, a necessity for survival, and they also command a considerable amount of power compared to mortal races, although they can be overwhelmed if not careful. Some whelps demonstrate significant intelligence and magical ability regardless of their size. Drake 1 ~ 50 years :Drakes are dragons are still considered quite young when compared to some of the elder wyrms. Drakes tend to keep to the skies and rarely remain on the ground for very long and can often be found around areas that are used as hatching grounds or areas of importance to a particular flight. Such locations include the Burning Steppes, the Swamp of Sorrows, Winterspring, Tanaris and the Dragonblight. Dragon 50 ~ 500 years :A dragon is the most widely known stage, as this is the 'adult/mature' stage of a dragon's life. Again as with drakes and whelps, appearances, power, and behaviors differ between flights. Many at this stage in life can/could reproduce within their flight. Wyrm 500+ years: :A wyrm is the most powerful form of a dragon, which is reached at around 500 years of age. From here, the wyrm likely just grows in size and power. Most dragons that our elders, including the Aspects themselves are wyrms. =Draconic Society= ---- Dragons have a strict society organized by age and flight, with the elder dragons being highly respected by their kin due to their many years of experience. There are no current records on the hierarchy of the dragonflights, however, it is known that there are at least two ranks of importance, the rank of Aspect, which governs the flight, and the rank of Consort. Other dragons may use identifying ranks, such as Keeper, Watcher or Steward, but there is no evidence on record which places them above or below other dragons in the overall hierarchy. Aspect An Aspect is the leader of one of the five major dragonflights. Originally given their power by the Keepers of Azeroth, the Aspects were supposed to lead their flights for millennia, although in recent years several of the aspects have been slain, including Malygos, Deathwing, and Ysera. When an Aspect is slain, the surviving members of the dragonflight come together and choose a successor to lead the flight. So far this has only happened once in the entire history of Azeroth when the Blue Dragonflight assembled and appointed Kalecgos as the new Aspect of the Blue Dragonflight, although with the recent death of Ysera it is believed that the Green Dragonflight will soon assemble and choose their own aspect to lead the dragonflight moving forward. Consort The Aspects of the dragonflights are often aided in their duties by their consorts, dragons who are considered to be their companions, partners, and lovers. Consorts are chosen in most cases by traditional draconic courtship rituals; and while a consort may be more intelligent or stronger than the average dragon within the flight, only those who are loved by an Aspect will rise to the position. All consorts, regardless of flight, are led by the Prime Consort of their dragonflight. The Prime Consort is one who has, in most cases, held the position of consort for the longest time, or is otherwise favored or more capable than the others. While an Aspect is capable of having as many consorts as they wish, it is the more common to see an Aspect limit the number of consorts to three or four at any one time. Notable Consorts Alexstrasza *Tyranastrasz (Deceased): Older than his queen and served as her Prime Consort for tens of thousands of years. Killed by Deathwing at the Battle of Grim Batol. *Korialstrasz(Deceased): Until recently, Alexstrasza's Prime Consort. Sacrificed himself to prevent the use of the Wyrmrest Sanctums as a staging ground for the chromatic dragonflight. *Two other unnamed consorts who both perished during the Second War. Ysera *Eranikus (Deceased): Taken by The Nightmare. Later freed, and returned to fight along Ysera's side before sacrificing himself to defeat Lethon. *Number and names of other mates unknown. Malygos *Sindragosa (Deceased: Prime Consort. Perished after Deathwing's betrayal during the War of the Ancients. Raised by the Lich King. *Haleh, Matron Protectorate of Mazthoril. *Saragosa (Deceased): Killed by Keristrasza as revenge. *Keristrasza (Deceased): Taken captive by Malygos, and forced to be his new consort as revenge for Saragosa's death. *Number and names of other mates unknown. Nozdormu *Soridormi: Prime Consort. Said to be just as sensitive to the Timeways as Nozdormu. *Three other unnamed consorts. Neltharion (Deathwing) *Sintharia (Deceased): Prime Consort: Only consort to have survived mating with Deathwing. *Number and names of other mates unknown; all perished after mating with Deathwing. =Sources= ---- :WoWPedia :Dawn of the Aspects is a five-part e-book series written by [[Richard A. Knaak]]. :'The Sundering'' is the third book of the ''War of the Ancients'' Trilogy novels written by [[Richard A. Knaak]]. :World of Warcraft Ultimate Visual Guide' :Charge of the Aspects'' by Matt Burns :Various Quests in World of Warcraft Category:Animals Category:Dragon Category:Blue Dragonflight Category:Black Dragonflight Category:Green Dragonflight Category:Red Dragonflight Category:Bronze Dragonflight Category:Pantheon of Titans Category:Races Category:Nightmare Dragonflight Category:Infinite Dragonflight Category:Netherwing Dragonflight Category:Chromatic Dragonflight Category:Storm Dragonflight Category:Plagued Dragonflight